Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) today announced that it has been selected by Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL), India’s leading telecom service provider, to deploy 5G-ready equipment across select markets in India.

Vodafone India and Idea Cellular merged in August 2018, with the merger leading to one of the biggest telecom network integration and consolidation projects in the world. As a VIL partner, Ericsson is deploying next-generation technology with built-in customizations and innovations to deliver rich consumer experience while building a robust, future-proof network.

As part of the contract, Ericsson is supplying radio access and transport equipment from its 5G-ready Ericsson Radio System portfolio, including the MINI-LINK 6000 microwave backhaul solution.

Nunzio Mirtillo, Head of Ericsson South East Asia, Oceania and India says, “We have been strategic partners to both Vodafone India and Idea Cellular for several years, and now we enter a new phase of partnership with this deal with VIL. The 5G-ready solutions in the Ericsson Radio System portfolio will help boost the capacity of VIL’s LTE network and broaden the availability of high-quality mobile broadband services for its customers. These deployments will play an important role in building VIL’s future-ready 5G network.”

Ericsson India have already begun radio access and microwave network consolidation and modernization with the cornerstones of increased coverage, quality and capacity with optimal opex and capex efficiency. Consolidation of existing deployed base (2G/3G) will be carried out to maximize spectrum on LTE, followed by ongoing optimization of the network in order to enhance end-user experience.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Ericsson Radio System is an end-to-end modular and scalable radio access network consisting of hardware, software, and services. Its portfolio includes products in the areas of radio, baseband, site solutions, MINI-LINK for microwave transmission, a fully-integrated IP router portfolio, and fronthaul solutions – all managed by a common management system.

MINI-LINK 6000 is Ericsson’s 5G-ready microwave backhaul solution, with traffic between radio sites and core network being realized over the air instead of physical media such as fiber. This technology supports high capacity and superior performance with a low cost of ownership.

Network Design and Optimization: Ericsson state of the art Network Design and Optimization solutions blends the existing know how from multiple complex network consolidation engagements with new generation machine learning enabled technology to maximize our customers networks end user experience while minimizing their overall Total Cost of Ownership.

About Ericsson Ericsson enables communications service providers to capture the full value of connectivity. The company’s portfolio spans Networks, Digital Services, Managed Services, and Emerging Business and is designed to help our customers go digital, increase efficiency and find new revenue streams. Ericsson’s investments in innovation have delivered the benefits of telephony and mobile broadband to billions of people around the world. The Ericsson stock is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and on Nasdaq New York. www.ericsson.com

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